The invention relates to a sensor board comprising a plate-like body comprising a body material and having two surfaces substantially parallel to each other, and at least one optical sensor and at least one non-optical sensor, where the sensors are positioned at the same surface of the body,
In this context the term sensor board denotes a board of solid material carrying two or more sensors on at least one surface of the board.
Optical sensors are widely used in analytical devices for analyzing samples within several technical fields, e.g. for assessing the quality of food and drinking products or industrial products.
Optical in vitro determination of parameters in a blood sample is normally performed by means of blood gas analyzers as, e.g. the blood gas analyzers produced and sold by Radiometer Medical ApS, Copenhagen, Denmark, under the name ABL800 FLEX. In these analyzers the optical sensors are normally installed as self-contained photometric units and require space and, furthermore, make the analyzing path longer, which again may require larger samples.
Due to the tendency of minimizing the amount of blood required for measurements, which is particularly true for critically ill patients for which many subsequent samples may be required and neonates for which the available amount of blood is highly limited, it is desired to minimize the analyzing path e.g. by providing as many sensors for analyzing different parameters in as little volume as possible.
Also in other applications the requirement for minimal sample volume may be relevant, e.g. when specimen from where the sample is derived is sparse or expensive. Consequently, it would be a significant advantage if optical sensors could be combined with other sensors on a sensor board.